Are these really "secrets"?

Looking through this list, I'd say the only items that might surprise people are #1 (poop), #5 (running can be boring, I'll be the first to admit it), and #19 (Garmin infatuation). I feel like the rest of the list is common knowledge for the most part. Thoughts?

"You'll loose half your weekend to running a long run. If you’re running anything more than 10 miles, you not only have to be a good kid the night before, but spend the entire post-run day napping and eating."

um...what? I regularly run my Saturday morning runs mere hours after I was **** faced and stayed up way to late. And I don't spend all Sunday napping and eating, who got time for that when laundry & kid's sports & family stuff goes on that day? Jesus, it ain't an ultra for crying out loud! It's a 15 miler! Eat half a pizza and drink a beer, you'll be fine. Who needs the whole next day to re-coop?

Agreed. I feel like this was written by a non-runner who might have interviewed a runner here or there to collect data. That or they were being overly exaggerative to try and get some laughs.

It is funny that you quoted that before I edited it. I think we all have things on that list that do apply to us and that don't. So then I went back and decided that the only one that truely I had no idea about when I started running was dude nipple chafe. Well, that and the pooping issue some people find common. I had no idea "runner's trots" really existed(I do not experience this issue myself, along with nipple chafe). So I thought they were myths.

"You'll loose half your weekend to running a long run. If you’re running anything more than 10 miles, you not only have to be a good kid the night before, but spend the entire post-run day napping and eating."

um...what? I regularly run my Saturday morning runs mere hours after I was **** faced and stayed up way to late. And I don't spend all Sunday napping and eating, who got time for that when laundry & kid's sports & family stuff goes on that day? Jesus, it ain't an ultra for crying out loud! It's a 15 miler! Eat half a pizza and drink a beer, you'll be fine. Who needs the whole next day to re-coop?

Agreed. I feel like this was written by a non-runner who might have interviewed a runner here or there to collect data. That or they were being overly exaggerative to try and get some laughs.

Well said. I can go through them one by one.

1. My running schedule does not revolve around pooping.

2. I do not know how to "make" myself poop. I poop when I need to poop.

3. Agreed. Shoes matter.

4. You really shouldn't lose your weekends to a long run. No way.

5. Yeah, it can be boring sometimes.

6. I don't always feel great post-run. Sometimes, I feel like crap.

7. The only time I struggle through a very short run is if I've had a brutal workout or a race the day before.

8. You should only lose a toenail if the toebox on your shoe isn't wide enough.

9. Who the hell wears a thong when running?

10. Your running clothes won't smell like death if you actually wash them.

11. Snot rockets are for everyone - not just runners.

12. I'm not specific about my running conditions. Regardless of the conditions, I run.

Shoes mattering may not be a secret, but I think the extent to which shoes can matter surprises people. There are still too many people who go to some chain sports gear store in the mall to get shoes that are cheap and cute. And how often you have to replace your shoes can deviate from the generally held opinion that running is so darn cheap.

The same girls who wear a full face of makeup and a push-up bra to go to the gym, shorts with "PINK" written across the a$$ and 80% of their "workout" consists of Instagramming workout selfies on their phone and flirting with the guys in the weight room.

Nipple chafing... I once went on a stupid unprepared 20K race, almost died, ruined my knees, and in the process got two bloody nipples. Actual blood, with streaks down my stomach when I took the sirt off. I was so embarrassed about it, I thought that this never happens to men, and never told anyone about it, even my wife (I ran in a dark t-shirt, so nobody saw it). Until I came across this very website and saw that there was an entry for "bloody nipples" in RW's Guide to Common Running Terms. I relaxed, made a confession to my wife and she gave me a couple of those thingies (like special band-aids) that women use to protect their nipples when they breastfeed - that I stashed far away, just in case.

#12 is also about me - I hate cords dangling more than they need to. Drives me nuts. The cord is usually underneath my shirt, but it still manages to stick out and borther me.

#10 used to be an issue, until I invested in four separate sets of clothes...

As to the poop schedule - I don't know if my running revolves around it, but it has definitely changed since I started running and working out.

All in all, it is not an unfair summary. While most of the items to not relate to me, I'm sure there are people who feel them.

I'm in the same boat as LtH, except even less of that applies to me. I've never had nipple chaffing, and I wear my Garmin about 8 times a year. Also I honestly can't remember ever finding running boring except when running on a treadmill.

But hey the list got plastered all over Facebook and probably every running community on the web so if true or not it did it's job. I think we can come up with a better list of "running secrets" Here's mine.

1. I hate it when nonrunners ask me about my running, I try and keep my answers as short and boring as possible so they will stop asking me about stuff they have no ability to understand or appreciate.

2. I make a huge distinction between people who run and people who race. It has nothing to do with speed and everything to do with intent. Racing is a sport, running is exercise.

3. Related to the above, I run so I can race. Any benefits other than being able to race faster related to running are entirely secondary. I really don't care if running is good for you, which is why I also don't/won't care if all those articles about running too much causing you to die 3 months earlier are true.

4. I think marathons should have strict time cut offs based on gender and age, starting at 4 hours for men under 40.

5. I hate it when people say, you are so lucky you can eat whatever you want and not get fat. There is nothing lucky about burning an extra 1000-1500 calories a day.

1. This crap is hard. If you start, you'll probably quit. Half do within a couple of months and 75% quit within a year.

2. If you keep running for a year and don't get injured, you'll probably get a lot faster and it doesn't much matter what you do. Don't waste money on training plans because, again, it doesn't much matter what you do. Just keep running and do some faster running once a week or so.

3. You will get injured. Every runner gets injured.

4. Running is simple. Move forward by alternating which foot is on the ground and, at some point in the gait cycle, both feet must be off the ground at the same time. That's it. But "simple" is not the equivalent of "easy." Walking across the country, for example, is simple.

5. Marathons are no big deal. Any otherwise healthy person under the age of perhaps 50 could train sufficiently to finish a marathon in under the 6 or 7 hour cutoff with about 6 months of training. A college degree is a big deal but it takes 4 years. Raising your kids is a big deal but it takes decades. Stuff that takes 6 months to do isn't a big deal.

6. Everyone who is faster than me has more talent. Everyone who is slower than me doesn't work hard enough. Just sayin....

7. If you are running for less than an hour, you don't need to worry about drinking while running. You can't sweat out enough in a 60 minute period to become more than mildly dehydrated. Don't believe me? Think about this. You go roughly 8 hours every night without drinking. You don't die.

8. If you are running for less than two hours, you don't need to worry about eating anything while running unless you are running at a seriously, seriously hard effort. Don't buy into the snake oil sold by the makers of gels and shots and chews and whatever. Your teeth will thank you.

9. Running takes discipline. Discipline is not about doing what you want to do. A four year old can do what he or she wants to do. Discipline is about doing what you need to do even when it's the last thing on earth you want to do.

10. Running isn't the only way to exercise. Don't believe the running evangelists out there. If what you are concerned about is your health, it doesn't matter what you do. Get out there and work up a sweat and get your heart beating more than 120 beats per minute for 30 minutes 4-5 times a week. That's all it takes for good health. Now, if what you want to do is race, we need to have a completely different conversation.

Short Term Goal - 17:59 5K

Medium Term Goal - 2:54:59 marathon

Long Term Goal - To have been a runner half my life (I started at age 45)

I'm in the same boat as LtH, except even less of that applies to me. I've never had nipple chaffing, and I wear my Garmin about 8 times a year. Also I honestly can't remember ever finding running boring except when running on a treadmill.

But hey the list got plastered all over Facebook and probably every running community on the web so if true or not it did it's job. I think we can come up with a better list of "running secrets" Here's mine.

1. I hate it when nonrunners ask me about my running, I try and keep my answers as short and boring as possible so they will stop asking me about stuff they have no ability to understand or appreciate.

2. I make a huge distinction between people who run and people who race. It has nothing to do with speed and everything to do with intent. Racing is a sport, running is exercise.

3. Related to the above, I run so I can race. Any benefits other than being able to race faster related to running are entirely secondary. I really don't care if running is good for you, which is why I also don't/won't care if all those articles about running too much causing you to die 3 months earlier are true.

4. I think marathons should have strict time cut offs based on gender and age, starting at 4 hours for men under 40.

5. I hate it when people say, you are so lucky you can eat whatever you want and not get fat. There is nothing lucky about burning an extra 1000-1500 calories a day.

I can't wait to see this one blow up.

(Although I agree with you in principle - but I might be a little more generous with the cutoff times. A little...)

I knew about coffee um... helping things along but cold water after? Boy my mornings just became much quicker to get through.

Nipple chafing, the words just make me cringe.. perhaps someone needs to invent a sports bra for men.... but what would we call it?

I have a friend that swears by drinking a warm glass of water and couple mile jog pre-race to get things moving. But that doesn't really help for training runs... (and honestly coffee seems to lose its effectiveness the longer you have been imbibing)

4. I think marathons should have strict time cut offs based on gender and age, starting at 4 hours for men under 40.

I have no idea what age and gender have to do with it, but all the runs in my area already have pace requirements, simply because they only pay the police department to keep the roads closed for xx amount of time. If you can't finish on time, you have to get off the road and your time is often not recorded.

4. I think marathons should have strict time cut offs based on gender and age, starting at 4 hours for men under 40.

I have no idea what age and gender have to do with it, but all the runs in my area already have pace requirements, simply because they only pay the police department to keep the roads closed for xx amount of time. If you can't finish on time, you have to get off the road and your time is often not recorded.

True but most marathons these days have a 6 hour cutoff and many have pushed it to 7. A 6 hour marathon is a 13:43 pace which is not much faster than a brisk walk. Seven hours is 16:01. RKR is saying that if you are a male under 40 and you can't run 26.2 miles in less than 4 hours, which is a 9:09 pace, then you really don't need to be running marathons. He would adjust the cutoff by age and gender so the cutoff for a 40 year old male would be significantly different than the cutoff for a 60 year old female.

Short Term Goal - 17:59 5K

Medium Term Goal - 2:54:59 marathon

Long Term Goal - To have been a runner half my life (I started at age 45)

BTW, Vaseline will fix all of your nipple chafing problems and it's much less painful than ripping bandaids off a hairy chest. Mind you, it does permanently stain your shirt but these are running shirts so who the hell cares?

Short Term Goal - 17:59 5K

Medium Term Goal - 2:54:59 marathon

Long Term Goal - To have been a runner half my life (I started at age 45)

4. I think marathons should have strict time cut offs based on gender and age, starting at 4 hours for men under 40.

I have no idea what age and gender have to do with it, but all the runs in my area already have pace requirements, simply because they only pay the police department to keep the roads closed for xx amount of time. If you can't finish on time, you have to get off the road and your time is often not recorded.

True but most marathons these days have a 6 hour cutoff and many have pushed it to 7. A 6 hour marathon is a 13:43 pace which is not much faster than a brisk walk. Seven hours is 16:01. RKR is saying that if you are a male under 40 and you can't run 26.2 miles in less than 4 hours, which is a 9:09 pace, then you really don't need to be running marathons. He would adjust the cutoff by age and gender so the cutoff for a 40 year old male would be significantly different than the cutoff for a 60 year old female.

Anyway, I haven't run a marathon in 10 years and have no plan to do one in the next 10 years so it doesn't really matter to me how fast or slow people do them. I just feel bad for the volunteers who need to stand around for all that time.

"5. Marathons are no big deal. Any otherwise healthy person under the age of perhaps 50 could train sufficiently to finish a marathon in under the 6 or 7 hour cutoff with about 6 months of training. A college degree is a big deal but it takes 4 years. Raising your kids is a big deal but it takes decades. Stuff that takes 6 months to do isn't a big deal."

Sorry, LTH, but there's no way I can believe that a marathon is no big deal. I know people do ultra-marathons, etc., but to be able to run 26.2 miles is a big, honkin' deal - especially to someone who is struggling to run her first mile. I'm sure it's old hat to you, but I'll always be impressed and amazed by people who can run a marathon.

I started out as one of those folks who struggled to run a mile. Hell, I couldn't run a mile. My first night out, I lasted half a mile and it took me something like 6 1/2 minutes. I was 45 years old, obese, and a chain smoker. I had started smoking at age 15 and was a fairly heavy smoker the entire time. I probably averaged 2 packs a day although there were times I smoked much more than that. At any rate, I finished my first half marathon about two months after I started. It was a miserable experience but I ran almost the entire distance and finished in 2:28. I didn't quit smoking for another couple of months.

Now, I knew nothing about walk/run strategies. I just knew how to run. I'm not sure I could have run 26.2 miles but I think I could have done a run/walk in under the 6 hour limit of many marathons and certainly in under a 7 hour limit. I say that because I ran a hilly, hot 15 mile race in 2:23 almost exactly six months after I started. Mind you, if you had told me the day I started running that I could run the Charleston Distance Run in six months, I'd have laughed and said you were insane.

I recognize that I have some talent for running. However, I still think that I could take any otherwise healthy person under the age of 50 and train him to complete a marathon in under 6 hours or her to complete a marathon in under 7 hours and I could train them to do that in six months. It seems impossible when you're the person struggling at a mile but it's really not that difficult.

Now, if you decide you want to race the marathon rather than just finish it, that's a whole different story and I think it takes a bare minimum of 18 months and probably at least two years for most people before they can really race a marathon. I waited 2 1/2 years after I started running to run my first marathon and I'm glad I did because I was able to race it and i can say with a fair degree of certainty that I would not have been ready to race it six months earlier.

Short Term Goal - 17:59 5K

Medium Term Goal - 2:54:59 marathon

Long Term Goal - To have been a runner half my life (I started at age 45)

"I recognize that I have some talent for running. However, I still think that I could take any otherwise healthy person under the age of 50 and train him to complete a marathon in under 6 hours or her to complete a marathon in under 7 hours and I could train them to do that in six months. It seems impossible when you're the person struggling at a mile but it's really not that difficult."

LTH, you sell yourself short. I don't think you know how lovely crazy you are. 99% of the population haven't done what you did, and I'd venture to say "couldn't" because most aren't that crazy. Stop discounting your accomplishments, man. What you have accomplished is huge. You deserve a pat on the back from yourself foremost. I venture to say others have already told you how admirable your accomplishments are. You need to let yourself believe that now.

LTH, you sell yourself short. I don't think you know how lovely crazy you are. 99% of the population haven't done what you did, and I'd venture to say "couldn't" because most aren't that crazy. Stop discounting your accomplishments, man. What you have accomplished is huge. You deserve a pat on the back from yourself foremost. I venture to say others have already told you how admirable your accomplishments are. You need to let yourself believe that now.